Book, Relationships and Launches

Today I woke up feeling gratitude.
You've heard of The Secret right? Thoughts become things and other stories? Well it's true, they do, but thinking can be bloody exhausting sometimes. Especially first thing in the morning.
Most mornings when I wake up I couldn't be arsed about having an attitude of gratitude; I just want to go straight to 'okay, what problems do I have today?'
But today! Today was different.

I woke up grateful that I went to sleep late but still got up early.
Grateful that water came.
Grateful that I had this absolutely big protein-rich breakfast followed by gym and a swim. I felt like I was doing my body right.
And very grateful that Doctor Oz declared that dark chocolate is good for you, because now that cube of Wholenut I eat every day just moved from the self-indulgent to the self-care column. I mean, if you can't be grateful for that, what can you be grateful for?

I'm also thankful to Kat (not Elissa) who had me sorted in fifteen minutes yesterday, thus ensuring that I did not have to delay....drumrollll

The Book Launch for Charity!

yay!

In Search of Paradise is now available for pre-order wherever e-books are sold! I'm so nervous about this, yet excited. Why nervous you ask? Well, this is a new space I'm venturing into, a stranger in a strange land. And yet not really.

Because the core of the book is relationships. And I think nobody is a stranger to those. 

Allow me to digress.

Or not really.

This week, Amber Rose held her annual SlutWalk. Now I'm really not sure what the message of the slutwalk is...but I think it's something to do with rape culture. I saw that it began when some policeman in 2011 said, "Well if you don't want to be raped, don't dress like a slut."

I grew up in the eighties and nineties when social media involved actually going out and socializing. Now because I didn't have access to everyone's every thought, I grew up thinking that everyone had the same views about certain things. Like there was a 'right' choice and a 'wrong' one. (These days that has been converted into the 'left' and the 'right' ironically). 

So in my mind, growing up there was no option for justifying rape. There was no scenario in which you could excuse a rapist because, oh, reasons. I thought everyone held that view until social media taught me different. There is apparently justification for anything; rape, murder, slavery...There is nothing which is 'wrong' anymore.

So okay, moral compasses are a thing of the past. How then to negotiate through life in the present? In this life where pastors sit on gold couches and their congregants kiss their shoes (true story). In this world where presidents are children playing their game of thrones with no shame or any indication of self-awareness;  not a smidgeon of leadership skills. And this applies to every leader apart from Angela Merkel. 

So in this quagmire called life, what can you do as an individual to restore sanity to your life? What can I do?

Well, I'm a writer so I can write.

Back to Amber Rose: she holds this slut walk yearly and this year, her boyfriend 21 Savage came out to support his boo. In my book, that earned him a seat at the adult table with Hov, Kanye and John Legend (see my post labeled Pearls of Wisdom...or Not). But to the internet, this was something to make fun of him about.

It made me sad...for the internet. Poor souls have no clue what a healthy relationship is supposed to look like. Or else they're jealous because Amber Rose, known slut or whatever, has a man who is there for her, who shows up for her, who supports her in her endeavors. And they can't get a text back.

Anders and Ben, my heroes in In Search of Paradise,  go through something like that. They attempt to find a definition for their relationship when living in a world where you can't just go home and say, "Dad, this is my boyfriend." if you're a guy. So how do you negotiate the different relationships that you have as a person, and still stay true to who you are? It's a difficult question and I'm sure a lot of people in our community are living it every day. Can you relate?

After you've read the book, please come back and let me know.

Follow the #booklaunchforcharity events here. Or follow the hashtag #booklaunchforcharity and #readforacause on social media. I also intend to do some mad blogging this month so pray for me.

And go on, hit that pre-order button. You know the price will go up once Nov. 3rd arrives. Don't be caught with your dick in your hand - figuratively speaking of course.

Kisses.